SocialRank is a startup that helps brands, agencies and celebrities understand their social media followers — not just in aggregate, like most social analytics services, but on an individual level. Today it introduced more features as part of a new SocialRank Premium plan. As a refresher: SocialRank helps customers find things like their “most valuable” followers on Twitter… Read More

Fresh on the heels of Disrupt NY, we’re packing up and heading to Austin and Seattle for the TC Meetup + Pitch-off. Ten companies will have exactly sixty seconds to pitch to a panel of expert judges, including local VCs and TC editors, as well as our lovely audience. Judges will conduct a quick Q&A on stage, and at the end of all the presentations, they will determine our winners. Read More

As civilian drones become more affordable, sophisticated and common around the world, a company called Dedrone Inc. has raised $10 million in venture funding for systems that monitor the skies and tell people when drones have entered their airspace. Menlo Ventures led the Series A investment in Dedrone bringing the company’s total capital raised to date to $12.9 million. According… Read More

Jifiti, the startup attempting to reinvent digital gift-giving, announced this morning that their new chatbot API was approved by Facebook Messenger. It’s a big deal for the Columbus, OH startup, who already has relationships with many companies ranging from IKEA to Evite and who can now integrate their gift-giving process directly with Facebook Messenger. Read More

Affirm has made it no secret that its success will hinge on its ability to offer customers a wide range of retail partners where they can frequently use Affirm to pay. While the lending startup originally launched with niche partners like Casper mattresses and Boosted Boards, they have recently partnered with mainstream retailers like Home Depot and J. Crew with the hopes of tempting a… Read More

Just swallow a pill and it expands into a balloon in your stomach so you don’t feel hungry. No gastric bypass, no surgery required. Sounds magical, but Boston-based Allurion has created the only non-invasive gastric balloon for obesity. Gastric balloons are nothing new, but you usually need anesthesia and a doctor to insert them. That makes the whole process expensive and prohibitive… Read More

If you’ve ever grumbled about long lines at the pharmacy, Capsule wants to save you the trouble next time. The New York-based startup is launching today to offer delivery of prescription meds directly to your doorstep or office in your time of need. Here’s how it works: When you visit the Dr. and they prescribe you meds, you can ask your Dr. to fill out the prescription for the… Read More

French startup Snips is launching its first product today, an iOS app that is supposed to make your life easier by letting you view and search your data more easily. Snips is a personal assistant that helps you know where you need to be and when. When you first launch the app, Snips wants you to grant access to your location, calendars, contacts, motion sensor and Gmail account. Then… Read More

LATEST CRUNCH REPORT

In three short weeks, the TechCrunch team will be in the beautiful city of Stockholm for a good old TechCrunch Meetup + Pitch-Off — and I couldn’t be more excited about this event. If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re available on June 7, it’s now time to apply to the pitch-off. Read More

WeSchool, initially available in English, Spanish and Italian, is aimed at teachers with a product that will go up against established Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as the Moodles of the world, and upstarts like EdModo. Read More

GoButler, the startup that originally offered a virtual assistant that let you request anything on-demand, appears to be pivoting for a second (and maybe final) time. The New York-headquartered company is shuttering the GoButler consumer-facing service altogether in favour of offering natural language processing technology to third-parties. Read More

500 Startups’ 16th demo day just wrapped up, and the firm is already turning its eyes to its next batch of companies. More than 40 startups are participating in this batch of companies. From softer baby products to tools for creating and distributing vertical videos (a big focus given the shift on many mobile platforms), there’s something that might pique pretty much… Read More

Blockchain, the company behind the world’s most popular bitcoin wallet, has been quietly working on an interesting project called Thunder. The Thunder network is an alternative network of nodes that lets you make off-chain bitcoin payments in seconds and settle back to the bitcoin blockchain every now and then. And it makes me excited about bitcoin all over again. Read More

You don’t have to look hard to see why the startup community in Latin America has long faced a lack of capital and resources to fuel significant growth. Many Latin American entrepreneurs have endured decades of political and economic hardships that left the investment landscape in a less than desirable state — especially for emerging startups. Read More

Legislation allowing ordinary American investors to invest in the shares of startups and small businesses was first introduced in the U.S. Congress in 2011. Despite bipartisan support and the approval of President Obama, it is only now becoming a reality. Read More

“Tell me about your cap table?” I asked the founder of an early-stage startup. He was clearly passionate about his business, and had assembled a top-notch team to help him achieve his ambitious vision. But the grit and determination that helped him overcome the challenges of his current and former startups seemed to falter a bit as he considered his response. He had a dirty cap… Read More

It’s that time of year again: more than 40 500 Startups companies presented and launched in Mountain View this afternoon. From acne consultations by dermatologists through your smartphone, to selling sewing patterns, today’s Demo Day hit quite a few pretty interesting areas. Here are a couple of our favorite ones from the batch. Read More

About Me

New Trier High School, Winnetka Illinois.... cancer survivor...NYU Grad School of Film and TV...Film Editor....Training Audio/Visual Writer for US Coast Guard...audio visual producer and public relations writer..had some pretty awful bumps along the way (haven't we all) --glad to still be around and in touch with so many friends from the past